“In 2005 I was invited to participate in a project in Los Angeles called ‘The Backroom’ initiated by Magali Arriola, Kate Fowle, and Renaud Proch, in which artists were asked to contribute materials related to their research, sources, and interests. Although at that time I was not using collage materials in my sculptures, I had amassed a large collection of magazine pages (mainly from architecture and interior design magazines) that I often flipped through for inspiration. I decided to edit the pages, spending several months arranging and rearranging them as relationships both formal and narrative were revealed. This book is a reproduction of the resulting selection, originally presented in ‘The Backroom’ in a simple black binder.”—Vincent Fecteau, San Francisco, 2015

American artist Vincent Fecteau has, over the last two decades, forged a singular aesthetic that mixes homespun materials (Popsicle sticks, champagne corks, string, and the like), meticulous craftwork, and a curious formal grammar. By turns wonky, erotic, extraterrestrial, or baroque—and sometimes all of these at once—his sculptures are built from small, slow accumulations in which layering, texture, and the work of the hand are all visible. His exhibition “You Have Did the Right Thing When You Put That Skylight In” is on display at the Kunsthalle Basel from June 18–August 23, 2015.